I Haven't Managed To Make A Molehill Out Of A Mountain

8 inch

  Patchwork Stars

made with 2.5 inch scraps. 

Goal: 63 blocks

Current count: 6

Brown Stuff

has been the theme in my sewing room this month. I moved along a few brown UFOs and scraps but I have not managed to make a molehill yet out of that mountain of brown scraps. But I am ending the month with three brown comfort quilts in process so I am headed in the right direction.  This month I used mostly bits and pieces of brown scraps already cut to a certain width to mke blocks and have not cut into many scrap chunks yet. 

6 inch

18 Patch

made with 1.5 inch scraps

Goal: 108

Current count: 34

8.5 inch 

Pavement Pattern

made with 3 and 3.5 inch scraps.

I'm thinking this quilt will have a 2 inch sashing with cornerstones.

Goal: 35 blocks

Current count: 17

And sew on...

This week was definitely a NOT FINISHED week.

Finished or NOT FINISHED Friday at Alycia Quilts

 

June Leaders and Enders

"Brown Stuff"

My June leaders and enders were little brown three inch

 Nine Patches

in civil war reproduction fabrics

for my Whirl quilt.

I think there's 42 of them. 

And sew on...

 

Sixteen Patch Block Set Complete

Last year I made some 8 inch Sixteen Patch blocks with civil war reproduction fabric scraps and scraps along that line like Kansas Troubles or Thimbleberries.   After using up my scraps I had 33 blocks toward a goal of 63 blocks for a 7 x 9 layout. 

Since this month my theme is "brown stuff" I decided to look through more brown scraps to see if I could find any scraps that would go well with the blocks I already had. I did. And after that I found scraps in a few other colors so I could complete my block set. For now they will go into the SAR (Some Assembly Required) box until I feel like assembling them into a quilt top.

Last year's 33 blocks.

And sew on...

 

Double Four Patch Finish

It's a finish!

Double Four Patch

60 x 72

I started making blocks in January 2022 to use some brown scraps. By March 2022 I had a complete set of 120 blocks and set them aside in my SAR (Some Assembly Required) box. At the beginning of this month I assembled the top because the theme in my sewing room this month has been "brown stuff".

I quilted it on my DSM with diagonal lines going through the chains. I used a variegated brown thread which seemed pointless since the quilt front and backs are too busy to notice the variegation; however, that's what I had on hand that went best with the quilt.

All of he scrappy brown pieces for the binding came out of the leftover bindings box. 

And it seems I've been a little short this month on one fabric backings for my quilts. 

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

 

A Few Brown Scraps. A Lot of Blocks.

Brown Stuff

is the theme in my sewing room this month to help me move forward some UFOs and to help me make a molehill out of my mountain of brown scraps. 

So this week instead of using the pastel blue or green Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month I'm using brown scraps to make some of my many RSC blocks. 

Above are four inch finished Indian Hatchet blocks. The brown corners are cut from 2 inch width brown scraps. The four 2.5 inch squares came out of my project box.   The blocks are inspired by a vintage quilt and will now go into my growing collection of blocks of many colors. 

Old Italian Blocks

They finish at 3 inches and start with a stack of six 5 inch squares. I had 3 stacks of squares - brown alternating with yellows, brown alternating with blues and brown alternating with a wild turquoise print.  These will mix in with my growing collection of blocks. 

Windmills - four inch finished.

Snowballs - three inch finished with light corners and someday they will alternate with some old 3 inch Nine Patches with light corners. 

Bow Ties - 3 inch finished.

Squared Away - 7.5 inch finished. I've been making these in all colors from 3.5 inch unfinished Broken Dishes blocks I made in previous years from waste triangles. 

Monkey Wrench

5 inch finished.

For the past year or so I've been making Monkey Wrench blocks in three different sizes (5, 7.5, 10) and in all colors. I'll be making them all into donation quilts closer to year end. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

Red Centre With A Brown Center

Red Centre With A Brown Center

It's a top!

56 x 64

The quilt is called Red Centre in the book Making Quilts by Kathy Doughty.

Brown Stuff

is the theme in my sewing room this month to move UFOs forward and to whittle down a brown scrap mountain.

Earlier in the month I used my brown scraps to complete a block set of brown Monkey Wrench blocks which was a UFO.   After I made the Monkey Wrench blocks I had a lot of 4.5 inch scrap pieces. I used those pieces to make the fractured units for this top. 

I used a brown scrap with butterflies for my center. 

FYI - In 2017 I made a Red Centre rainbow quilt with a heart center. 

These stack and whack units are a quick and easy make and can be arranged in a variety of ways. Kathy Doughty has several different quilts that use these units in her books. I think it took me longer to cut the pieces and stack and whack them than it did to sew the pieces together and make the top. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

 

Pavement Pattern

The theme in my sewing room this month is "brown stuff". I'm using a monthly theme to help me move forward some UFOs as well as scraps that fit the theme. 

Pavement Pattern Blocks

3.5 inch square centers

3 inch squares cut on diagonal for sides

I received a bag of 3 inch squares last month and I decided to use the brown and cream squares in that bag (if there were 4 matching squares) and then go to scraps to make these blocks.  I also used pairs of 3.5 inch squares from my Parts Department and then went to scraps.  I've used up all my squares on hand in the making of these blocks and so moving forward they will all be made of my brown and cream scraps. 

Pavement Pattern Tutorial by Beth Shibley

The blocks were inspired by a vintage quilt. 

These blocks were meant to be.  At the time I was pondering what to do with the brown squares in the gifted 3 inch squares I received last month someone with Stashbusters group  posted a link to the Pavement Pattern video.   My old laptop computer does not do well at all with videos so I rarely watch them.  But I saw this one was by Beth Shibley who used to blog at Love Laugh Quilt and since I always liked her work I thought I would try to load and get through the video for the block - basically looking for the measurements for the Square in Square blocks.  And then I had a new start! Add these 8 blocks to the 4 I made last month and now I have an even dozen and something that will maybe help whittle down that mountain of brown scraps. 

And sew on...

 

A Sunny Lanes Top

Sunny Lanes

It's a top!

60 x 72

This month the theme in my sewing room is "brown stuff". I'm trying to move forward UFOS and scraps that fit the theme.  This is a UFO that dates back to a swap that took place in 2015. 

I made 15 blocks in January 2015 and swapped 12 of the best in February 2015. 

The Sunny Lanes block instructions can be found at Quilter's Cache.  

For the blocks we were to use civil war reproduction fabrics and for the sides - golden tan and white. 

In January 2021 when I was looking at UFOs that needed civil war reproduction fabrics I made 15 more blocks and put the block set in my SAR (Some Asembly Required box). 

So...one step at a time over time. Now this will go into the TBQ (To Be Quilted) pile. 

In Memory Of

Victoria Carroll-Parkhill

she was the block swap hostess and self-proclaimed civil war fabric snob. 

She used to blog at Park Hill Farm.  Her husband passed away in 2020 and after that she did not do much blogging and no longer had much of an online presence. I was thinking of her when I made this post and went to her blog again but there has been no activity for years. I went searching for an obituary but did not find one but I did find a probate notice dated May 2023.  

May she rest in peace.

 

Blue Stuff

This month my personal theme is "brown stuff". I took a little break from "brown stuff" to work on the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color blue. Well, actually the RSC color is blue and green pastel; however, I have dark and bright blue scraps I did not get around to using in January when that was the RSC color so I chose to use them now. 

You may or may not know that a couple years ago I made over 300 little 3 inch Economy or Square in Square (SIS) blocks. Last week I turned some of the blue/black SIS into Stars.  This week I added 2 inch borders to some blue/black SIS to make 6 inch Happy Blocks. 

Most of the SIS I used last week were florals and this week I tried to use mostly I Spy. 

Then I turned some 3 inch Broken Dishes blocks into 7.5 inch Squared Away blocks. 

And then I turned what was left of the 2 inch width scraps used in the making of the I Spy Happy Blocks and Squared Away blocks into 3 inch Bow Ties for my collection of over 600 Bow Ties. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

A Finish! Soul Searching In The Chocolate Box

Soul Searching In The Chocolate Box

It's a finish!

56 x 72

It was inspired by a quilt called Soul Searching in the book Making Quilts by Kathy Doughty. I say "inspired" because Kathy's quilt called for 2.5 inch width pieces and I modified the pattern and used 1.5 inch width pieces because I was cleaning out my 1.5 inch scrap bin last year (finally!) and most of the scraps in there were brown. 

I made the top in October 2022.

This month the theme in my sewing space is "brown stuff" so I decided to get this brown stuff quilted. I quilted it on my DSM with chocolate swirls in a variegated brown thread. 

The binding is scrappy - all brown pieces from my left over binding box. 

Pieced backing.

Pieced backing close up. I thought it kind of echoed the blocks on the front. The other neutral fabric is a wide back trimming. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

 

And Now My Set of Brown Monkey Wrenches Is Complete

I started this month of "Brown Stuff" with fourteen 10 inch Monkey Wrench blocks. 

And now there are 48 blocks for a 60 x 80 quilt.

And now my brown scrap bag is a little lighter.

And sew on...